It Was All For You
by candidshot
Summary: It'd been years but even so, Caroline hadn't turned her back on him. For her sake and his, she went for her Klaus.


With the room splattered in red and with the evening amber light sneaking in and bouncing off antique paintings and furniture, the orange in Klaus's eyes and the rigid veins pulsing from them was a dangerously beautiful sight. He looked up, saw her and staggered, swiping the back of his hands across his lips, his gaze never leaving her face. "What are you doing here", he asked, his voice grated and chopped, his eyes wide in disbelief - unable to tell if he were seeing a ghost or hallucinating.

Caroline took a step closer, her eyes flitting between the dead bodies on the floor and the ruby stains on Klaus. "What are you doing here?" she also asked because-

Klaus was still on the floor where he'd staggered, looking around him at the dead bodies and simply answered, "I believe it's something very close to coping".

Caroline swallowed and even Klaus knew that was anger. "Really Klaus, are you really going to stand there and give me bull?"

And though still shaky that Caroline, a dream he'd been chasing for years was finally in front of him, he found the strength to stand in her presence. "Do you think I actually murdered these innocent people?"

She of course rolled her eyes, stepped over corpses and walked even closer to him – her eyebrows furrowed and wow, Klaus always found an angry Caroline irresistibly wonderful and irrevocably beautiful. "Well you sure aren't throwing them a birthday party, now are you?"

"I could be", he replied, still wiping dripping ruby from his mouth, his eyes still the colour of tangerine orange. "As a matter of fact, they probably partied so much that they passed out. That's how good a host I am".

Caroline stepped over another body, careful not to get her design shoes soiled with blood. "And leaving all that ketchup on your hand, I suppose", she scoffed, and the sarcasm in her voice may have added another thousand years to Klaus's life.

"Cranberry sauce actually".

Caroline sighed. "Klaus, I know your greatest sin is gluttony but what the hell? Do you know how long that flight was to get here? Not to mention playing Sherlock in trying to find you".

He stood up and stayed in a clear path without bodies – just in case Caroline wanted to keep walking towards him – he just loved making her life as easy as possible – it also brought him closer to his dream. "You have my sympathy but I don't remember calling you here".

She again rolled her eyes and released a heavy sigh. "Are we really doing this?"

Klaus stooped and took a handkerchief from the pocket of one the dead meal then proceeded to wipe the blood off his hand – but he would need more than dry cloth to get rid of his crime. "You're going to need to be a bit more specific, Love".

"Hope, Elijah… what if it was them who'd walked in on this mess? This conceitedness and your wallowing as if the world doesn't have enough selfishness going around".

Klaus fretted about on his feet, trying not to look at the lifeless bodies strewn across the floor before then straightening his shoulders. "Actually, having them see me devastated like this does sound like a brilliant idea. Maybe then, they won't leave me. Perhaps then the people I care about would stay with me if they actually saw my misery".

A frustrated sigh left Caroline. "Are you even listening to me? Pull yourself together, Klaus. The world doesn't revolve around you. Elijah won't always be around to come rescue you the moment you decide to turn against humanity because some supernatural freak had turned against you".

Klaus's frustrated inhale was loud. It vibrated though the air and off the walls. However, the light in the ceiling, the sunlight sneaking in, the glass and the chandelier in the room and of course, the light bouncing off Caroline, they all reflected and exposed Klaus's desperation and loneliness and even more so as he asked, "Then if he won't come then who will?" his voice breaking with the question. "And it doesn't take much to see the salty pools forming in his eyes. "Tell me Caroline, if my sisters or brothers or even my own flesh and blood can't come when I need them most then what hope do I have? Exactly who will rush to my rescue?"

And as though deliberately, Caroline stepped over another body then another one until she was standing chin to chin with him. "I'm here, aren't I?" she asked. "I came half way across the globe. And yes, Rebekah might've asked me to come but it's you, Klaus. I came for you. It was all for you".

And it had been a while – so long that Klaus was starting to forget how to smile but then Caroline came and his muscle memory loosened his jawlines into endless smiles and his eyes also flickered to a softer tone and in these rare moments, his heart would start to beat like a thousand hummingbirds flapping their wings to music. "So you're now my personal warden and you've come to take me back. Is that it?" he asked with a signature smirk – and just so he took another step closer and closed that daring spiteful and teasing gap held between them for over a decade.

"Something like that", she answered, tossing him a pack of antibacterial tissue. "Now wipe. I can't have you ruin my blazer with blood or corrupt the scent of my perfume".

A single tear did escape Klaus's left eye. But it was a happy tear – it'd been years but even so, Caroline hadn't turned her back on him.

"I'll give you a tour tomorrow", he said, wiping from wrist to fingertips. "Let's start with the Notre-Dame Cathedral".

"Are you going to confess your sins and seek forgiveness for those poor people you murdered?"

"Then there's this Afternoon Tea garden that you'll absolutely love. They also have attached a private eighteenth century art gallery. I'll finally be able to show you some of my more notable portraits".

"If you don't hurry the only portrait you'll be showing me is your mugshot at the nearest police station".

And Klaus laughed – a full hearty laugh that left his belly in happy trembles. "Caroline… I".

"What now?"

He then held her by the shoulder and told her. "I thank you for coming".

~ it was all for you  
klaus x caroline


End file.
